


Cursed

by felicityollies



Series: Tale as old as Time [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast, Angst, Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Boss/Employee Relationship, Curse Breaking, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Lazy Sex, Making Love, Mild Smut, Non-Explicit Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-07-28 21:43:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7657789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a cursed billionaire, an IT girl, and a complicated situation (a beauty and the beast au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

art by [victori96572376](https://twitter.com/victori96572376)

It happened when he was young. Oliver Queen was barely twenty-two. The entire world was his oyster. He had unlimited funds thanks to his inheritance, he had control of a large technology company, he was handsome and knew it, and constantly had women falling at his feet. He used these women like people use tissues. He got what he wanted out of them and then disposed them. He was not a nice person.

Oliver Queen considered himself to be a prince. The prince of Starling City, but his reign was coming to an end. 

"Laurel, c'mon," he said, walking towards her, "It was one time." 

The brunette turned and glared at him. "Cheating and lying?" 

Oliver couldn't even stop himself from rolling his eyes. He could see that she was angry and he knew he had done wrong by her, but he didn't care. He probably shouldn't have agreed to see her again after their first time together. He knew he wasn't a one-woman guy and he never had been. Probably never would be. 

It started with sleeping with her roommate, then her sister, and it continued on with various women. So, yeah he was lying straight to her face, but what was she going to do about it? 

"The way you treat women is deplorable," she spat. 

"Then why don't you leave?" 

Laurel stepped closer to him. "If you think that you are going to get away with this you are dead wrong, Oliver Queen." 

Oliver crossed his arms in front of his chest; he wasn't afraid of her. He watched her face contort as her anger grew. He was pretty sure he had never seen a person so angry before. He was determined not to crumble, though. 

"You think you can do whatever you wish because you're good looking," she said, "Well, not anymore." 

Laurel's eyes began to change. All color left until they were stark white. She raised her hands. Her fingertips seemed to spark as she did. Oliver took a step back suddenly feeling uneasy. 

"What the hell…" he barely got the words out when something shot from her fingertips and hit him square in the chest. 

For a moment it seemed as if nothing was going to happen, but soon his skin started to burn. He fell to his knees as he shouted in pain. 

"Stop!" 

Along with the burning came sharp needle point pricks inside and out. 

"Now, your outside with match your ugly insides," Laurel said lowering her hands. 

Oliver panted. The painful sensations began to ebb away, but as he stood he realized that something was wrong. 

"You are destined to spend the rest of your days alone," she continued, "No one will want to look at you anymore." 

Oliver turned his head towards the mirror that hung in the entry way of the manor. His body was hunched over and he was unable to stand straight. His face was covered in scars. He looked as if a beast had dragged its claws across his face. 

"No," he whispered. 

He lifted his shirt just slightly to see the same scarring on his body. 

"You witch," he breathed out. 

"Why yes actually," she smiled. 

Laurel started to walk away, but before she exited the building she turned towards him once more. "Maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe someone can look past what's on the outside, but considering what's on the inside… I doubt it. Unless you do find someone then you will be stuck like this until the day you die." 

She walked out and slammed the door. 

Oliver swung his fist into the mirror. He couldn't look at himself. He looked like a monster. He _was_ a monster and he was going to be one for the rest of his life. He spent the next five years in a secluded hell. He refused to leave his home and refused to let anyone see his face. He couldn't bring himself to believe that there was any hope for him _for who could ever love a beast?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m so stoked about the amount of excitement and feedback I’ve gotten for this story. y’all make me want to cry.

Felicity walked towards the front gate of the Queen Manor. One hand gripped onto a suitcase, the other held the strap of her messenger bag. Her grasp was tight enough to turn her knuckles white. She was about the enter the large mansion for her new job. Nerves were bubbling up inside of her like never before.

Barely out of college, she was entering the world of business technology. This job was something entirely different than any other she had looked over. Live-in tech help was the title. It wasn't very fancy, but the pay was substantial. Although, she had heard things about this place and the person that lived there. 

Oliver Queen had disappeared five years ago. He went into his home and never came back out. Everyone would have assumed he was dead if it wasn't for the constant flow of deliveries to his home. And the IT persons that continued to show up. She talked to a few of them and heard nothing good about the job. Oliver was apparently eccentric, weird even, but they never actually saw him. 

To her, it sounded awful, but she needed a job and a place to stay. Recently, she had left her crappy job at Tech Village, but that meant she no longer had the funds to rent her overpriced studio apartment. So, here she was. 

The twenty-two-year-old finally bucked up and walked towards the buzzer. She held the button down for a few seconds. 

"Who is it?" a low and very gruff voice came through the speaker. 

"Felicity Smoak." 

A sigh came from the other side. 

"Uh, Mr. Queen hired me," she bit down on her lower lip. 

"I know," he sounded annoyed this time, "I am Mr. Queen." 

She might have been nervous, but she didn't like rudeness. Giving an inaudible huff, she waited for the gate to be unlocked. Her arms crossed in front of her chest until she heard the metal click. With determination, she shook out the rest of her nerves. She wasn't going to let herself be a stuttering mess on her first day. 

Sighing, she gripped onto the suitcase and started through the gate. It was a long walk up to the door. Her heels clicked against the sidewalk as she grew closer. Her eyes moved across the lawn and up to the house. Everything was so quiet. There didn't appear to be any movement inside or out. 

When she got to the front the door was unlocked. In the front hall it was dark and dusty. It looked like it hadn't been taken care of in years. Considering what she had heard, it probably hadn't. 

A hiss of an intercom system startled her. "Your room is down the hall and to the left. First door," the same gruff voice from before spoke. 

She pressed her hand to her chest and took a deep breath. "Alright, thank you Mr. Queen." 

Shaking her head, she walked down the hall and found her bedroom. It was a large guest room with the only clean furniture she had seen so far. Thank god. There was an attached bathroom, which meant it was all hers. Double thank god. 

A piece of paper on the bed caught her eye. It was typed instructions, but they seemed very meticulous. There was a schedule she needed to keep, times she could go into the kitchen, and times she needed to be working. The computers were set up in the living area where she was going to be spending most of her time. 

And in big, bold, caps lock at the bottom of the page it read, " **DO NOT GO UPSTAIRS**." 

She was starting to understand why people thought Oliver was weird. At the moment, she wasn't going to complain. The job was something she needed and she was going to suck it up. 

The hiss of the intercom scared her again. Before he could say anything she spoke, "Jeez! Warn a person before you do that!" 

There was a pause on the other side followed by a sigh. 

She turned towards the intercom system by the door and narrowed her eyes at it. It was a very outdated piece of technology, strange for a man that ran one of the biggest tech companies. 

"At least I know you can't see me," she muttered. 

"How do you know that?" his voice stayed flat and grumbly. 

"Because this intercom looks like it's from 1982." 

If she could hear a person rolling their eyes she would have heard it then. 

"Anyway," he still sounded annoyed, "You have five minutes before you're needed in the living room." 

"Okay, Mr-" she didn't even get to finish before the intercom went off. 

Deflating just slightly, she went to put her things down near the wardrobe to be unpacked later. She held onto her messenger bag, which held her personal computer and tablet. There was a small amount of doubt about whether or not she would actually be able to use them any time soon, but she would just have to see. 

She made her way out of the room and walked past the staircase. Her eyes moved up the long dark stairs, wondering what he was hiding up there. Probably himself. 

Walking into the living area, she let a horrified gasp. She moved to push the button to speak to him. 

"Mr. Queen!" 

"What?" 

"These computers actually are from 1982," she exclaimed, "How do you expect me to work on these outdated pieces of hardware?" she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "You are supposed to be running a company from these?" 

"Everyone else was just fine," he said in the same monotone voice. 

"Well, I am not everyone else. I am Felicity Smoak and I cannot work with these," she almost regretted speaking that way to her new boss, but it was true. 

A long sigh came from the other side, "You will work with these and you will start now." 

The intercom went off again and she made frustrated, angry gestures at the machine. How did he expect her to help him with these? She sighed and sat down in front of one. At least he hadn't fired her for shouting at him. It was probably her credentials that saved her. Or maybe he just didn't want to go through the process of hiring someone again. 

"Better make the best of this," she sighed again. 

With quick fingers, she began to update the computers the best she could. She knew she was one of, if not the, best out there when it came to computers. It was just going to take her a lot of time to bring these at least somewhat up to date. 

"Mr. Queen, you better appreciate this," she muttered under her breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to send me feedback either here or twitter (smoakenarrow) or tumblr (felicityollies)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m still in shock over how well received this fic has been. thank you all so much! Ahead is a little more info on Oliver. I know it’s moving a little slow at the moment, but we’re going to get to the good stuff i promise!

Up the stairs in the Queen manor was a long and seemingly deserted hallway. Dust, cobwebs, and broken pieces of furniture and art were scattered along the corridor. The doors to various rooms were locked except for Oliver's. He had kept it this way for years even before he was cursed.

Before the hex that ruined his life, his already ruined life, he was alone, but managed to fill the void with parties, alcohol, and women. It was fine. He ignored his responsibilities and focused solely on his needs and desires. 

Now all he had left was his family's company and the manor. He cared more about keeping Queen Consolidated up and running than he did about keeping the manor well cared for, though. His own appearance was in shambles so why bother to worry about where he was living? 

All the mirrors in his space were broken. His room was dark, so he didn't have to see himself in the remaining shards. He had dirty blonde hair hanging in his face; he couldn't remember the last time he got it cut. There was scratchy and equally scraggly facial hair on his cheeks and chin. It did nothing to hide the scarring on his face. He looked so much different than the person the world had last seen. The baby faced twenty-something that still had pictures in various tabloids was gone; it made him sick to his stomach to even think about. 

He grumbled, leaning back in his chair. His eyes moved over several different computer screens. They were old just like the ones downstairs. On three of them were security screens. He might not have been able to see inside of Felicity's room, but he could see every place else in the manor. The images were in black and white, filled with static, and with low quality sound because the security system was equally outdated. He had set the computers, intercom system, and security all himself, but now he was wondering if he should make his latest hired help set up a more advanced system. 

Felicity Smoak. Her resume was more impressive than anyone's he had seen before. She was extremely intelligent as she had already proven. A little snarky which he hadn't expected, but it was nothing he couldn't handle, he hoped. Felicity was also beautiful; that only made him want stay hidden even more than before. Never had he let anyone who came into his home see him. 

On his fourth screen was his actual computer. He had emails open from the board members at QC and an old instant messaging program he was also planning on using to communicate with Felicity. He wasn't a fan of using the intercom when he didn't have to; he didn't even like talking on the phone when he was interviewing people. It was then when he should have realized that Felicity was such a talker. She barely took time to breathe on the phone and now she was sitting in his living room, muttering to herself as she worked. On what, he wasn't exactly sure. 

He leaned forward and pressed the button on the intercom. "Miss Smoak," he started to say. 

"Felicity," she responded instantly. 

He sighed heavily. "Miss Smoak, what are you doing?" 

"Updating your computer systems since apparently new computers are out of the question. You really have no idea how much this hurts me…. deep in my soul." 

Frowning, he watched her on the screen. She really did seem rather distraught over these old computers, but he still thought that she would be fine. 

"I am almost done, thank god, and then we can get to work." 

"Fine," he said flatly, "When you're finished turn on the messaging program." 

He let go of the button, causing a static hiss on the other end. 

"You know," she continued to speak anyway, her voice came in on the security system low and metallic, "If you let me come upstairs or wherever you are hiding I could connect our computers and give us a much better way of communicating." 

He slammed his hand down onto the button faster than he had before. "Do not come upstairs, Miss Smoak. This is your only warning," he growled loudly. 

Felicity recoiled a little. "Yeesh," she muttered, "No need to be so grouchy." 

His lip curled and he pulled back his hand from the button. The last thing he needed was her poking around upstairs. This was his domain, his sanctuary, the only place that he could hide from the world and he was not going to allow this woman to trespass. 

* * *

Their first day was over. The sun had set and he was finally exiting his room. He made sure that Felicity had entered her sleeping quarters before starting to make his way down the stairs. Slowly, he crept through the house. He kept to the shadows like he always did and pulled a hood over his head just in case. 

It wasn't often that he actually ate; he hadn't had much of an appetite the last several years. Tonight he was traversing through the manor towards the kitchen for a snack. He had to pass Felicity's room, but that shouldn't be a problem. 

Of course as soon as he thought it she opened her door. He pulled back and hid the best he could in the darkest corner of the hallway. Felicity shuffled past him completely unaware. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. 

"Silly me," she mumbled to herself, "Forgot my phone in the living room." 

He stayed where he was, not wanting to risk her seeing him on her way back. When she came back into the hallway she held the cellular device in her hand. It looked different than the ones he used when he was younger, but if he was being truthful his attention wasn't really on the phone. 

His eyes moved over Felicity's face when she paused close to him. This was the first time he was really seeing her. The dim light coming from her room shone over her just enough for him to see her well. Her blonde hair was down and around her shoulders, framing her face just right. He could see her bright blue eyes and could tell that those beauties would light up in the sun. Her lips were plump and pouty, painted in a bright pink lipstick she had yet to remove. 

He let out the smallest shaky breath, causing her to look up from her phone. Swallowing, he pressed his lips together tightly. 

Felicity looked around, but didn't see him. "Creepy," she muttered, "If this place is haunted too I swear…." she trailed off and shook her head. 

The phone buzzed in her hand, "Ugh mom how many times are you going to text me tonight," she said as she started back towards her room. 

For a moment his lips threatened to twitch upward into something resembling a smile, but he simply shook his own head and bolted towards the kitchen when the bedroom door was completely shut. All he wanted to do was grab an apple and get back to his room. He didn't want to think about how beautiful Felicity was. There was no reason to let his mind wander like that. She was there to work and that was that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and we finally really get into it!  
>  _ **Warning:**_ very brief attempted non-con (sort of) i just want to put a warning bc I don’t want to trigger anyone.

"Mom… mom, you're too close to the camera again," Felicity sighed.

Trying to Skype with her mother wasn't the easiest thing in the world. 

"Oh dear," Donna laughed and scooted back. 

"Thanks, I didn't really want to see a close up of your eyeball," she shook her head. 

"Don't exaggerate, Felicity," her mother chided, "How's the new job?" 

"Interesting." 

"Interesting?" 

"Yeah… everything about this place is so mysterious and strange," she shook her head again, "And you know how I feel about mysteries." 

"Don't go poking around. I don't want you to end up back at that tech store," Donna waggled her finger at her. 

"I know. I know." 

The last thing she wanted was to be put back in the place. It had been her own decision to work there instead of someplace that she could use her intelligence. She'd always had a habit of hiding her smarts just because people thought she was strange. In school she liked math, science, and really any class they could put her in. She loved to learn and she was good at most of her subjects. 

She was bullied in school. Tormented really. It was easier to retreat in on herself. Keep her grades quiet and stay quiet herself. She practically became invisible until college, but that was a topic she didn't want to think about. 

It was boredom that had led her to the Queen Manor. Standing in khakis and an ugly polo all day made her feel like she was losing years off her life. There weren't any openings at Queen Consolidated when she first began looking, but the day this job became available she sent in her resume, this time she didn't leave any of her credentials out. 

She might have also made sure her resume was the only one that was seen. 

"Good," Donna smiled brightly, "I'm so happy you've got a good job and for such a handsome billionaire," she swooned. 

"I haven't even seen him yet," she laughed, "I couldn't tell you if he still looks like that." 

Most of what she had seen had been drunken and not very pretty anyway. She wondered if a good picture actually existed, though she hadn't done that much research on him. The curiosity was there, but she felt it was better not to do a complete background search on her boss. Besides, how much of it was even true? There were so many damned tabloids with his name spattered across the headlines. 

Donna waved her hand at her. "Oh pish posh." 

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. 

"Baby girl, I have to go. Long shift tomorrow," she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the camera. 

"Mom," she sighed heavily. 

"Love you!" Donna practically shouted as if it was hard for Felicity to hear. 

Then she had to watch as her mother struggled to turn off Skype because she insisted that Felicity stay until the very last moment. 

"Just hit the end call button." 

"I want to turn off the camera." 

"It'll turn off," she sucked in a deep breath. 

"Here we go, bye-" she cut herself off when she hit the button. 

Her hand came against her forehead. "Oi vey," she sighed again. 

She closed her laptop and pushed herself away from her desk. It was only her second day at the manor, but she was becoming antsy. She wanted to see what was upstairs. Her mother had just warned her about poking around in places that didn't concern her, but she wanted to know. 

Outside her room she heard a door creak open. Raising a brow, she crept towards the door and slowly leaned out. She caught the door to the kitchen closing. Okay, if this wasn't a sign to explore she didn't know what was. 

Though, she had to admit she didn't know if she wanted to go towards the kitchen and meet this Oliver Queen face to face or if she wanted to see what was in the forbidden second floor. Quickly, she exited her room and started towards the steps. 

This was dumb. Very dumb, but she wasn't going to continue going on without knowing what he was keeping from her. Her foot hit a step that caused a loud squeak. She paused and looked around. He wasn't rushing out of the kitchen, so she trekked forward. 

At the top of the stairs she was met with a long dark corridor. She frowned, thinking that it all seemed very ordinary. Well, it was dusty as hell, broken things littered the floor, and all the doors were closed. 

She glanced behind her once before continuing and checking a few doors. It wasn't until the fourth door that she was able to push it open. The room was just as dark, but there were several computer screens. 

"Oh god," she put her hand to her heart, "This hurts me deep down." 

The screens were in black and white and so full of static, but now she could see where his security cameras were set up. She stepped away from the computers and looked around at everything else. His room was a mess and yet it hardly looked lived in. Taking another step, something crunched beneath her feet. 

"Oops," she said as she leaned down to pick it up. 

It was a small picture frame which held a family photo; the glass just as dust covered as everything else in the house. The people in the picture looked so happy. A man, woman, young boy, and an even younger girl. She had a feeling that the young blonde boy was Oliver. 

"What are you doing in here?" a deep and growly voice startled her. 

She dropped the picture; it clattered against the ground. 

"I told you not to come in here!" 

"I was curious!" it was probably the worst come back. 

She turned to see him in the doorway. Not enough light to see his face, but enough to see the shadowy figure of him. 

"Get out!" he growled. 

"Why? What are you hiding up here?" she stood her ground. 

"This is private," he spoke through gritted teeth. 

He started towards her, something that she hadn't expected. There was suddenly not very much space between them. He invaded her personal bubble and she knew that he was just trying to intimidate her. 

"Get out," he punctuated each word. 

The light from the computer shone against him, giving her a better view of him. His face scarred and disfigured, his hair long and hanging in his face, facial hair that looked like he was trying to use it to cover the scars. It wasn't working. His appearance was startling, but she didn't let it show. 

"You can get in my face all you want, but you don't scare me," she puffed up her own chest and moved forward, making him step back, "And you're not going to bully me." 

He clenched his fists. "Leave!" he shouted again. 

"Fine!" she shouted back, "Fine, this was a mistake anyway." 

"Coming up here? I don't disagree," he spat. 

"No, coming to work for you," she hissed, "They warned me. They all warned me and I didn't listen." 

She stormed past him and out of the room. There was no way she was going to stay there another minute. She didn't even stop by her own room to grab her things. The only thing she had on her was her phone. 

"Jerk," she muttered as she walked out the front door, "Huge jerk. It was just a room with a very poorly set up computer system." 

She kicked the ground and sighed. Yeah, she had screwed up. She shouldn't have gone in there, but she didn't see why he was keeping things from her and setting up such weird schedules. Was it all to keep her from seeing him? Could a person really be that vain? Sighing, she shook her head. 

Her fingers pressed against the cool metal of the iron gate, pushing it open. The clack of her heels echoed off the sidewalk. It was a cold night in Starling. She was starting to regret leaving the manor in her short skirt, blouse, and no freaking jacket. 

"Great. Great. Great," she kicked the ground again. 

Where was she even going? She didn't have a place to live. 

"Christ, Felicity," she mumbled to herself. 

Whatever. She kept walking away from the house and towards the city. It was a surprise that she was actually making it a decent way away from Oliver. But maybe that wasn't such a good thing. 

"I've got a bad feeling about this," she whispered. 

"Do you always talk to yourself?" a man came from the shadows. 

There was just enough light from the moon and the city for her to see him. 

"No," she was determined to stand tall and not look scared. But she was a young woman, alone, outside, and in front of a creepy stranger. Hell yeah she was scared. 

"It's kind of cute…. in a cute but psycho kind of way," he laughed. 

"Okay…" she took a step backwards. 

"Where you going?" he took a step towards her. 

"Back home," she lied. 

"Aww but you came all this way for a reason…" she could see a smirk forming on his lips. 

"I'll scream." 

"You better not," he held up his hand, his fingers wrapped around a blade. 

"Back off," a voice behind her startled her further. 

"Who the hell are you?" the man in front of her hissed. 

"That's none of your concern," it was Oliver that moved in front of her, "Leave her alone." 

He moved further into the light. 

"Bro, what happened to your face," the other man laughed, "You can't be with her." 

Oliver growled and lunged forward. She yelped and jumped back. It was obvious that he wasn't a fighter, but neither was the other guy. They rolled, Oliver punched, one of them yelled in pain, but Oliver kept punching. 

"Stop!" she shouted. 

He finally pulled back. There was blood on his hand and he was panting heavily. The other guy didn't even look like he could stand. She suddenly remembered that she had her phone tucked away in her skirt pocket. 

"I’m going to call 911," she mumbled. 

Not that she really wanted to rapist to get help, but she was going to make sure that the police knew he wasn't the victim in the situation. She was also going to leave the tip anonymously. There wasn't a reason she needed to stick around. 

"Let's go," Oliver said after she ended the call. 

His hand was at his side, pressing tightly. 

"You're hurt," she said. 

"It's nothing," he ground out. 

"You got hurt protecting me, so yeah it's something," she followed him back towards the manor, "Why did you come?" 

"Because letting you walk around outside is irresponsible," he still sounded like he was growling. 

"You didn't let me do anything. I make my own choices," she snapped. 

"Obviously," he sighed. 

It was apparent that he wasn't going to actually tell her why he was out there, but whatever. They were quiet the rest of the way up to the manor. When they arrived he collapsed in a chair in the living room. 

"Stay there," she said sternly. 

He glared at her, but didn't move. She grabbed a first aid kit out of her bedroom; she was always prepared. 

"Let me see," she knelt down beside him. 

"No," he looked away from her, trying to keep his face out of the light. 

"Oliver," she reached forward and tried to move his hand out of the way. 

He pushed her hand away. 

"Let me see!" she smacked his hand. 

He hissed and pulled his hand away. She rolled up his shirt and saw a cut across his side. It wasn't very deep, so at least he wouldn't need stitches. She could see more scarring across his body. This was nothing in comparison to all the markings. It seemed that there was hardly an inch of him that wasn't scarred. 

Oliver Queen was a mystery all on his own and she wanted to solve this one more than anything. 

She started to clean up the wound with peroxide, but he was squirming. 

"Yoww!" he shouted, "That hurts!" 

"Stay still," she glared up at him. 

He sighed, but stopped moving away from her. 

"Thank you," she muttered. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled. 

"No," she said, "I mean thank you for saving me." 

Slowly, his gaze turned towards her. 

"Yeah, well, next time do go running out the door late at night." 

"Yeah, well," she imitated his tone, "Don't go pissing me off." 

He eyed her warily. 

"I wasn't scared of you. I meant what I said, but you did irritate me." 

"You're not scared? Or disgusted…" he said slowly, unbelieving. 

"Nope," she met his blue eyes. 

The light caught them just right. They were bright and intense. Intense in color, but also in the emotions they held. 

"Does that mean you're going to stay?" 

"Does this mean you're going to stop being jerk?" 

He grumbled at her again. 

"We'll work on it," she pressed a gauze to his wound and taped it up. 

He whined loudly. 

"Oh please," she said, "I was being very gentle." 

He looked away from her again. As soon as his gaze was off of her she smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _[hums] there's something there that wasn't there before_

Oliver wondered about Felicity. She was peculiar to say the least. The woman hadn’t been frightened of him, she wasn’t horrified or disgusted. Part of him was inclined to believe that she was lying. On a good day he felt like Igor from Mary Shelley’s novel; on a bad day he felt more like the monster.

But what would Felicity gain from lying to him. Nothing. He had to push the paranoia away, so that he could actually enjoy her company. They had been spending more time together. He came downstairs more, talked with her, mostly about work, but it was a breath of fresh air. She even convinced him to let her find a better security setup, including a new intercom system. The images on his computer were now in color and the sound came in crystal clear. 

_“Not that I’m a big fan of being watched,” she had said, “But if you’re going to have a security and intercom system they might as well be good ones.”_

(He didn’t really watch the screens that much anymore. It was mostly to see when she was awake and up and moving about.)

She had brought so much into his home, into his life, and he wasn’t sure how to handle all of it. Well, he did want to do something nice for her. So, he started cleaning out one of the spare rooms upstairs. Not his sister’s or his parents’ because he couldn’t bear the idea of touching them just yet. Too many years has passed and he still couldn’t do it. Maybe it was pathetic, but it was all he had left of his family.

He shook his head and exited the spare room. Felicity wasn’t home, so he wandered back into his room. He didn’t like it when she had days off, but he couldn’t very well keep her working 24/7. The only reason that he didn’t like her days off was that she, more often than not, used them to run errands. Since he had done a lot of cleaning that day he decided to relax in his down time.

In his room he had a large collection of books, all of which he had read several times. He liked to lose himself in his books. They had been the only things he could rely on for so long. His books offered escape, they didn’t judge him, and reading was a better use of his time when he wasn’t sleeping. He had trouble sleeping regularly. There was so much anxiety built up, nagging paranoia, and a depression slowly eating him up inside it made it too difficult to relax and sleep.

Sighing, he tried to get his mind to stop racing for just a little while. He picked up the book that he had last been reading, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, and started to read. It only took a few moments for the words to pull him in. He tuned out the outside world and focused completely on the story in front of him. 

Hours ticked by; he didn’t notice. Nor did he notice when Felicity appeared on the monitor as she entered through the front gate. He didn’t hear the buzzer or the front door opening downstairs.

“Oliver?” Felicity spoke as she came into his room.

His eyes were still glued to the page of the very depression novel.

“Oh I love that movie,” Felicity startled him this time. She gave a soft giggle, “Sorry.”

“You didn’t scare me,” he mumbled closing the book.

“Didn’t say that I did,” the smile never left her face.

He grumbled lowly.

“Do you read a lot?” she asked, pointing to the book.

He nodded slowly. Okay, when he said he talked to her more that might have been a little of an exaggeration. He tried to open his mouth and say things to her, but it was hard. Five years away from other people had left him a little stale in regards to social practices. There was a lot of nodding, pointed, and such. Part of him knew he was being silly, but he didn’t want to mess up and look stupid in front of her.

“I was supposed to read that in one of my college lit class, but we ended up reading something else. That’s what happens when professors leave it to a vote,” she shook her head, “But like I said I love the movie.”

“Movie?”

“You really have been a hermit for five years, huh?”

He hung his head low.

“No no no!” Felicity said frantically, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant….” she sighed, “Why don’t we watch it together?”

He blinked and looked up slowly, “Really?”

“Yeah! You can come in my room and we can share my bed. Share as in sit on it and watch a movie… nothing else,” she seemed to think she offended him because she quickly added, “Not that I wouldn’t, but you’re my boss and that just makes things complicated. I mean I don’t think of you like that, but not because….” she was visibly getting frustrated.

He held up his hand, “It’s okay,” he said quietly.

She took a deep breath. “Okay, good,” she shook her head, “I got some more food because… well the stuff you have delivered bores me to tears.”

He frowned a little. The food he had delivered to the house every week were healthy things, fruit, veggies, maybe a couple steaks. He could cook a bit, but he never had the appetite to. Though, he was starting to think about cooking Felicity something. He noticed that she didn’t cook at all and had been living on takeout or frozen meals that she got on her errand days.

“Oh,” he mumbled.

“We are going to have some kettle corn, mint chip ice cream, and some hot coco,” she trailed off and started to lead him towards the kitchen.

He felt a little weird about watching a movie in bed with her, but he also liked the idea. There was nothing he wanted more than to spend time with her. Pushing, himself up he followed her downstairs.

It wasn’t long before he was cuddled up in bed with her. She was closer to him than she had been before. Their thighs were touching, but he was really trying not to notice. She held a large bowl of popcorn in her lap, while their ice cream and coco sat on the bedside tables near them. He moved his shaggy hair from his eyes and focused his attention on the laptop in front of them. The movie was starting. According to Felicity it was only four years old, but at the time it came out he wasn’t exactly interested in anything going on in the outside world. There was so much he wanted to know now and it wanted to do it all with her.

The things she said early had made his heart sink. He knew he wasn’t pretty to look at anymore and she didn’t think of him in a sexual or romantic way probably because of his appearance and the fact that he was her boss. They could be friends, right? He could deal with that. No one was going to ever see him any differently, so there was no reason to ever get his hopes up. He didn’t like her that way and she didn’t like him that way. That was it.

He reached over to get some popcorn, but their hands bumped together.

“Sorry,” they both said at the same time.

She laughed, the most melodic sound he had ever heard, and shook her head. “It’s fine, go ahead.”

He hesitantly reached back in, “Thanks,” he mumbled before popping it in his mouth.

“Welcome.”

Oliver relaxed a little more and reveled in the moment. For the first time in a long time he was feeling like a normal person. Just sitting there with Felicity and watching a movie. He knew it wasn’t real; he wasn’t a normal person, but he could pretend for one night. Glancing over at her, he gave a small smile. He looked away before she could catch him.

Just one night. He could pretend for just one night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was actually worried about the flow of this because i wrote it in chunks over several days which is different than what i usually do, but i've been sick for two weeks (bleh).
> 
> anyway i hope it flowed well and made sense!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not sure how i feel about this chapter, but i tried.

Despite his best efforts to keep himself from forming feelings and an attachment to Felicity he had. Weeks of working with her turned into months. Every morning seeing her made his heart skip a beat. Even on the days when she was running slow, stumbled out of her room without makeup, messy hair, and pajamas. Those little grumbles she made on the way to get her first cup of coffee. Okay, those days were especially adorable.

Still, he had no idea how she felt. He didn’t believe that she could fall for him, but he wanted to have hope. The room he had been working on upstairs was finally ready. Obviously, he didn’t think that giving her a gift was going to make her fall in love with him. No, he was doing this because he wanted to show her how much he appreciated her. He spent hours cleaning, sneaking around, and trying to be secretive. Packages arrived over several weeks, but he made sure that she didn’t see any of them. Or at least she didn’t open anything.

Oliver was even contemplating shaving his face and cutting his hair.

“Alright, keep your eyes closed,” he held her small hands in his own as he lead her down the hall.

“Oh am I finally going to get to see what you’ve been doing up here?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Felicity giggled. “You’re a terrible liar, Mr. Queen.”

He cracked a genuine smile. Letting go of one hand, he reached for the doorknob and turned it. He pushed the door open. His nerves bubbled up, but he couldn’t go back now. The light came on and he carefully moved behind her.

“A couple more steps,” he whispered, “Okay, open your eyes.”

When she did, Felicity was met with a room full of high end technology. Expensive computers and some of the things that she had asked for when she first arrived at the manor. He asked her questions and did some research of his own to find the best of the best online.

“Holy….. Oh my god,” for the first time since he’d met her Felicity seemed to be speechless. Suddenly, she gasped loudly almost startling Oliver, “Is that an XK15 processor? It’s not even supposed to exist yet!”

“I uh… pulled some strings,” he mumbled.

“Can I touch it?” she asked, her fingers hovering over the tech.

“Of course, this is all for you.”

Her eyes went wide. “When you said this was going to be a surprise you weren’t kidding,” she squeaked out the words.

“You deserve it,” he said honestly.

The next thing he knew she was running at him and throwing her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she hugged him tightly.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, wrapped his arms around her. Hugging her back, he felt a warmth spread through him. He was utterly lost to this woman. She made him so happy and made him feel like he wasn’t some disfigured freak. He felt like he could be himself again. Not that jerk who became cursed, but someone better.

When she started to pull back he didn’t want to let go, but he did.

“Would you like to have dinner with me?” he blurted out.

She blinked up at him, but nodded. “I would like that.”

They ate their meals together most of the time, but this was going to be different.

“Good, would you mind going to the store?” he did his best not to fidget awkwardly, “You can get your favorites and I can cook for you.”

Felicity nodded enthusiastically. “Of course!”

She left after that and he headed into his room. Well, more specifically his bathroom. He looked at his reflection, feeling a twist in his stomach. The scarring all over his face and body still made him want to hide. There was a reason that he wouldn’t leave the house. He didn’t know if he ever would. Not if he looked like this. Today, though, he wanted to look presentable. He wanted to have dinner with Felicity without looking like he was a hermit. Tugging off his t-shirt he threw it down. His chest and stomach were just as bad as his face. To him it looked like his body had been torn with jagged knives and haphazardly sewn back together. Parts of him looked more like he had been burned in a terrible fire. Rough marks and scar tissue all over. The fact that he spent a lot of his time working out while he was hidden away was barely noticeable. At least to him. He couldn’t see past the scars.

Shaking his head, he told himself to stop focusing on that. He picked up a razor. It was old and one he hadn’t used in years, but he still remembered how to do it. A bit of shaving cream and then he turned it on. Carefully buzzing away all of his facial hair. He didn’t stop there. He took the clippers to his head and started to do away with his long hair. It took awhile, but by the time he had finished he was clean shaven and his hair was just an inch or so longer than a complete buzzcut. He felt almost relieved looking at himself without all that beastly hair. Yes, the scarring on his face was much more evident, but he felt like he wasn’t hiding as much as he was before.

He let out a soft sigh before heading back into his room. Now he had to find something to wear for dinner. His normal attire was a pair of ratty jeans, a t-shirt, and a green hoodie; that didn’t seem appropriate for dinner. He managed to dig out a pair of slacks that surprisingly fit and a button up shirt; he opted out of shoes because.. Well he just wasn’t a fan of shoes anymore.

As he buttoned up his shirt he heard voices coming from the security video on his computer. Voices as in plural as in Felicity wasn’t alone. He frowned, stepping towards the computer. On the screen he could see her outside the gate with another person, another man. As they got closer he could hear what they were saying.

“Did you really have to walk me all the way here, Cooper?”

Oliver narrowed his eyes.

“What kind of fiance would I be if I didn’t make sure you go back to Freaky Queen’s Manor?”

_Fiance? Freaky Queen?_ He was seeing red. Of course she was taken. And if he was talking that way then Felicity probably thought he was a freak too. He was so stupid. So stupid to think that he had a shot with her. He slammed his fist down onto the computer effectively shutting it off before he could hear anything else. All he wanted to do now as break things. It wasn’t just anger fueling him. He was hurt too. Oliver really liked Felicity, but now this. He didn’t know how to handle it.

In the end he slammed his door shut and locked it. Dinner was not going to happen that night.

* * *

Felicity hugged her bag of groceries close to her. She should have just called a cab, but no she had to enjoy the cool November air and take a damn walk. Now she was regretting it immensely. In the future she would not be walking down the road to get groceries again. Nope. No siree.

“Did you really have to walk me all the way here, Cooper?” she asked as she reached the mansion.

“What kind of fiance would I be if I didn’t make sure you go back to Freaky Queen’s Manor?”

She let out a long and frustrated sigh. This was unbelievable. Freaking unbelievable. A few moments passed before she finally spoke. “Ex-fiance,” she stated firmly.

“Right,” Cooper rolled his eyes, “What are you even doing working here?”

“That’s not any of your business,” she snapped.

“You could be working for me,” he flashed a charming grin.

Felicity rolled her eyes this time. “No thank you. I would rather go back to Tech Village.”

“You were working there?”

She grumbled lowly.

“Wow, Feli.”

“Felicity.”

Cooper shook his head. “C’mon. You could come to my company, be my assistant, and we could get back together.”

Just the thought made her want to vomit. Cooper had always been like this. They dated off and on in college, but he was only really interested in her when he found out she was actually really intelligent. He wanted her brain, but didn’t want to give her credit for anything she did. Her IQ far surpassed his, but he still acted as if he were the more intelligent of the pair. She didn’t know why she ever wanted to be with him. Maybe it was a momentary lapse in sanity. But whatever it was it didn’t matter anymore. The day she gave back his ring and refused to let him walk all over her was the best day of her life. She decided after that she wasn’t going to let anyone take credit for her smarts. Felicity Smoak was a damn intelligent woman and she proved it in her school work, well she had already had a full scholarship to MIT that kind of showed that, but she proved it further by graduating early.

Everything would have been fine if Cooper hadn’t made a big deal about it. Claiming that she had stolen work from him. Even though their work and styles were different the school had to take the accusation seriously. It was the biggest mess that she had ever been in, but she managed to, after several weeks, prove herself to be the one telling the truth. That was how she ended up at Tech Village, though. She didn’t want to be in the lime light anymore; she didn’t want her name in newspapers because of scandals or even the good things like graduating early and at the top of her class. She retreated into herself the same when she had done when she was a kid. It was just easier to hide and pretend she wasn’t smart. At least that way no one could use her. It sucked, of course, that’s why she quit, but at the time it seemed like a good idea.

“I’m not coming back to you, Cooper. Go home,” she said.

He scoffed. “Your choice, I guess.” His gaze wandered up towards the manor. “You got a thing for Freaky Queen?” As if that was the only reason that she wouldn’t want him back.

“What?” she asked in disbelief.

“You got a thing for the hermit,” he laughed.

“Go home, Cooper.”

He shook his head, still laughing as he turned away from her.

She waited until he was a ways away before she opened up the gate and stepped inside. That was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She didn’t exactly enjoy going down memory lane with Cooper. It made her regret how stupid she had been when she was younger. Okay, that was like a year ago, but still. She was still trying to get over it.

Really, she couldn’t believe she had almost married him. Talk about settling.

Sighing, she walked into the house, but it was quiet. Weirdly quiet. She didn’t see Oliver in the kitchen, so she left the groceries on the counter and headed up the stairs. Part of her was wondering about what Cooper said. Did she have a thing for Oliver? She wasn’t sure. He was a lot sweeter than she first thought, fun to talk to, and spend time with. Maybe she did like him on some level.

When she reached his door, she grabbed the doorknob. It was locked which was weird. “Oliver?” she knocked on the door.

“Go away,” he growled from the other side.

“What?” she was so confused.

“I’m not hungry anymore, so go away.”

“Why not?”

“I’m just not!” he shouted in a way that he hadn’t in a long time.

She took a step back from the door, wondering what had changed in the last hour or so. It didn’t make any sense. Things were going fine. They were going to spend more time with each other and she was going to thank him again for what he had done for her. Did he overhear something? But wouldn’t he just say something about it or ask?

Whatever. She wasn’t going to put up with his moodiness. Sighing, she pulled away from the door and decided to go downstairs to put away the groceries since they weren’t going to be used that night. Good thing she still had some canned ravioli. She looked at the can and wondered how a day could go from being so good to incredibly crappy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _He asked me to marry him  
>  Me, the wife of that horrible, clueless_
> 
> _Madame Seldon, can’t you just see it?  
>  Madame Seldon, his little wife, ugh_
> 
> okay, but for real i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I uh was going to split it up into two, but i figured if I left it off with Oliver's part i might have gotten maimed for the whole _fiance_ comment. 
> 
> anyway, let me know what y'all think!  
> twitter: gothlicitys  
> tumblr: felicityollies


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little up and down so be warned.

Two days went by and Oliver was still brooding in his room. Felicity had no idea why, she didn’t know if she had done something, but she had spent two whole days not talking to him or doing any work. It was two days too many. She was not someone that Oliver could just ignore. And she was totally still mad that they didn’t have a nice dinner together.

Felicity slammed her fist into his door several times, “Come on, Oliver,” she shouted, “Stop hiding from me!”

“No!” he shouted back.

Petulant child. She rolled her eyes. “So you are hiding from me.”

“That’s not what I said,” he muttered.

“But it’s true. You’ve been in a crap mood for days and I’m tired of it. Tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Maybe you should just go spend some time with your fiance, instead of wasting your time with Freaky Queen,” his voice was laced with disdain.

She blinked a couple of times when it dawned on her. Fracking Cooper. Oliver must of heard his stupidity, but if he had heard that why didn’t he listen just a few seconds longer? What was his deal? Was he jealous? But then again what does he have to be jealous about when it came to her. It didn’t make any sense.

“I don’t have a fiance,” she said a little more calmly.

“Don’t lie to me!” it sounded more like a growl than anything else.

“I’m not lying!” she shouted, but took a deep breath in an attempt to stay calm. “I don’t want to do this through the door, Oliver,” she said, “But if you had kept eavesdropping a little longer you would have heard me say that he was my ex fiance.”

It suddenly went silent. It was so quiet she could have heard a pin drop. After a few moments she head Oliver let out a shaky breath.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes. I hate him, by the way,” she shook her head, “And I don’t just throw that word around lightly. It takes a lot of energy to hate someone you know? Even if they have wronged you. But yeah, he’s a pain in the ass and he tried to ruin my life.”

“Oh,” all anger had left his voice.

“Yeah… so can you let me in?”

“I guess,” he mumbled.

She rolled her eyes again and waited for him to open the door.

When it swung open her eyes went a little wide, “Woah.”

He sighed and started to close the door again.

“Wait wait wait,” she said, “That was the wrong reaction.”

She couldn’t help herself, though. His hair was short, just an inch or so in length, and all the facial hair was gone. All of his facial and neck scarring was visible to her now. She really wanted to know what happened to him, but she knew it wasn’t going to be a conversation they would ever have.

“It’s nice,” she said.

He rolled his eyes this time.

“Hey, I am not a liar,” she crossed her arms, “The short hair and clean look works for you. Much better than that unshaven jungle man thing you had going on. No one needs to look like they’ve been stranded on an island for five years,” she teased.

He cracked a smile.

“Ha, I gotcha to smile.”

“Thank you, Felicity.”

“Any time,” she gave a smug grin.

“And I’m uh…”

She raised a brow.

“I’ve never apologized for anything… so uh… I’m just… sorry,” he mumbled the last few words very quietly.

“Needs some work, but not bad.”

He let out a soft sigh of relief. “How about I apologize by making that dinner I owe you?”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” she smiled wide.

They say the way to a man’s heart is through their stomach, but the same could definitely be said for her. She was a tiny person, but damn she loved to eat.

“I’ll go get ready,” she took a step back and then turned towards the stairs.

If she were being honest, she kind of assumed that this was a date. She liked Oliver, she really did. His looks didn’t matter to her. She was curious about it, but not put off by it. When he wasn’t being a broody jerk he was actually a nice guy. He was smart, easy to talk to, and easy to teach because he was so intrigued by everything she did. She could tell that if he wasn’t so anxious about his own appearance he could take QC by storm. Well, he still could at home, but she was sure his presence at the headquarters would be even more impactful. He had so much potential and she was sure that he didn’t see it.

In her room, she changed out of her usual skirt and blouse. She decided on a simple red dress. It wasn’t anything too fancy, but she wanted to dress nice for this. She didn’t want to look like she was trying to hard or God forbid she assumed it was a date and it wasn’t. He was her boss after all. Maybe it really wasn’t a date? It would be kind of inappropriate, huh? Shaking her head, she tried to stop those kinds of thoughts. She didn’t need to freak herself out.

Felicity skipped the heels because she knew that Oliver wasn’t going to be wearing shoes. She didn’t even know if he owned a pair. But if he wasn’t going to wear any then why should she? She pulled down her hair and took her curling iron to it. Just quick, soft curls that she let fall around her shoulders. She touched up her make up and slid her glasses up her nose.

“Perfect,” she said, looking in the mirror. “Well, relatively.”

The smell of dinner wafted down the hall and into her room. She actually moaned. If she were a cartoon she would have been floating down the hallway following the scent. She wished she was, but no, she had to walk down the hall.

“It smells so good,” she groaned as she walked into the kitchen.

Oliver turned towards her and smiled. A real genuine smile. He stood in a nicer pair of slacks, a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and couple buttons undone, and of course no shoes.

“You look really good too,” she walked towards him.

Her mouth filled with saliva as soon as she saw burgers in the pan.

“Thanks,” he said, but paused when he saw the way she was looking at the burgers, “Are you sure you were talking to me and not the meat,” he teased.

Her cheeks turned a bright pink. “Oh shush,” she giggled.

She was so happy that things were okay between them. Even better than okay, they were great. This was what she loved… liked about Oliver. Their playful teasing was fun; and the way the rest of the world slipped away, so it was just the two of them was something she reveled in. It was a magnificent feeling.

“I think you might explode when I tell you this, but…” he started to say.

“What?” she suddenly became worried.

“I threw away those frozen fries-” he was cut off by Felicity gasping loudly.

“What!?”

“But,” he continued, “There are fresh potatoes all cut up and ready to go into the oil when it gets hot.”

Her eyes moved to the oil on the stove and then to the freshly cut potatoes on the counter that she had completely missed. She had just been so distracted by burgers… and Oliver.

“Oh god,” it sounded absolutely sexual, “You’re spoiling me.”

He bit down on his lip and she was pretty sure she saw some pink in his cheeks. “You deserve it,” he said after a few heartbeats.

She leaned up on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek gently. If he hadn’t been blushing before he was now. She smiled and moved to sit at the table. It was just safer for her to be over there. If she tried to help the kitchen would probably be set ablaze. Her eyes stayed on him, watching him move about the kitchen with something that could only be described as grace. He was a big guy, tall, and muscular, but was light on his toes. It was pretty awe worthy.

It didn’t take Oliver very long to get everything ready and on the table. There were so many fixings for the burgers. Of course there were because she was the one that bought them, but god she was so excited. She really had to restrain herself and not shove her face into it before Oliver was ready to eat.

“You can eat,” he laughed.

“Oh thank god,” she lifted her burger and took a big bite.

She moaned. It was loud and even worse than before. “God this is so good,” she said with her mouth full of food. “This is better than Big Belly Burger.”

“I’ve never been there.”

She nearly choked on her food, but actually managed to swallow. “What?”

“My family wasn’t big on fast food,” he mumbled.

Woah, he never talked about his family.

“I’m taking you there,” she said without hesitation.

He suddenly looked rather anxious. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?”

“Freaky Queen,” he sighed, looking down.

“Cooper is an ass and you’re not a freak.”

“Thanks,” he said, but still didn’t look at her.

“I mean it,” she set down her burger and reached for her hand. “He doesn’t know anything and neither does the rest of Starling. They don’t matter,” she squeezed his hand.

He let out a slow breath. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Felicity.”

“Probably be pretty lost,” she said.

He gave a small chuckle. “Yeah.”

“Now lets eat. I don’t want this date to be ruined because of my dumb mouth,” she paused realizing what she said. “Unless this isn’t a date and I totally just ruined a friendly dinner with my boss,” she squeaked.

Oliver looked up at her, meeting her gaze. “I was hoping it was a date,” he said softly.

She let out a sigh of relief. “Good.”

They quieted down a little as they continued to eat. Only exchanging some pleasant chit chat. They learned a few small things about each other, deciding it was best to stay off the heavy topics, like parents and ex fiances.

The night began to wind down. Oliver popped open a bottle of red wine for dessert, which consisted of double chocolate brownies that she didn’t know he had hiding in the oven until part way through dinner. The smell had almost been enough to make her stop eating her burger and fries. Almost.

They leaned in close to each other as they drank their wine. The brownie they split was devoured immediately, but that didn’t mean she was ready to get up and go to bed.

“I’m glad we did this,” she said softly.

“Me too,” he smiled sweetly.

She moved a little closer. Her hand came up to his cheek, but he flinched away at first.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” she whispered.

He breathed out and nodded, letting her touch him. His skin felt rough against her hand. Her thumb moved across his cheek, taking in the way his scars felt. She watched him. His eyes filled with worry, but she didn’t want him to feel that way. With only a heartbeat of hesitation, she leaned in the rest of the way, pressing her lips to his.

It took him a moment before he kissed her back. Another few moments for him to really kiss her back. She could tell that he was a little rusty, but she didn’t mind. He kissed her lower lip and she kissed his upper. They stayed attached like that for a good few minutes. It never got any deeper than that. She pulled back, licking her lips, and letting her hand fall away.

He was quiet for tick. It was almost as if he were waiting for something to happen, but when whatever it was didn’t happen, he looked up at her with confused, sad eyes.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m,” he cleared his throat, “I’m fine.”

She didn’t believe him. “Okay…”

“I’m really fine, but we should probably clean up and go to bed.”

She sighed, “Okay,” she repeated.

They were quiet while they cleaned up in the kitchen. She hoped she hadn’t actually done something wrong by kissing him. He hadn’t pulled away, so she thought it was okay, but the look in his eyes. Oh, Oliver, what was going through that head of yours? She sighed again as they exited the kitchen.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” he nodded gently.

“Okay,” she frowned, “I was going to ask you if you wanted to stay with me tonight, but… I don’t want to push you.”

He seemed to think about it for a second. “I would like that actually.”

“Oh,” she smiled.

Together they walked into her room. He didn’t watch as she stripped and changed into pajamas. But he did climb into bed fully clothed.

“Don’t you want to get more comfortable?” she asked.

“I’m more comfortable this way.”

She climbed into bed beside him and put her hand on his chest. “You know I don’t care about your scars, right?”

He nodded slowly. “But I can’t,” he put his hand on hers and slowly pulled it away. “Not yet.”

“Okay,” she said she wasn’t going to push him and she wasn’t. She leaned over and pressed another soft kiss to his cheek. “Good night, Oliver.”

He flicked the light switch off and snuggled under the blankets with her. “Good night, Felicity.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm definitely going to be working on this fic a lot more. My goal is to finish it very soon. I can see a couple more chapters unless I decide to throw in more cooper angst... but I haven't decided on that quite yet. 
> 
> anyway, I'm always happy to hear y'alls thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter went a completely different way than intended... which means mild smut and lots of feelings ahead (:

Oliver watched Felicity. It was the early hours of the morning and he had just woken up. The sun had barely risen, but there was some light creeping in through the windows; just enough to let him see the woman in bed with him. Somehow, she wound up using his arm as a pillow, her arm flung across his stomach, and one of her legs wrapped around his. He hadn’t woken up like this in years, but back then if he had he would’ve slipped out of bed. He would’ve thought that the woman was being clingy and annoying, but he really liked Felicity. Like was putting it mildly.

He had never felt a romantic love towards anyone. Even before his family’s passing he hadn’t let anyone get close to him. He wouldn’t open up to Laurel or any other woman. Maybe he could do that with Felicity. He wanted to and that’s what you do when you love someone right? You want to share yourself and learn about the other person. It sounded right to him anyway. It was still a terrifying thought. To be in love with someone. Especially when that someone didn’t love him back.

He wanted her to, so badly. Not only because of the curse, but it would be nice to feel loved again. More than nice, it would be amazing. He thought that the kiss, he really thought that it would make him normal again. It hadn’t done anything. He didn’t fault Felicity for it. There wasn’t anyway he could blame her for what happened to him and it wasn’t her fault that she didn’t feel anything back. How could she love him? He was nothing more than an angry and scarred freak of nature.

There was a part of him that worried, worried that maybe Laurel lied to him, and there wasn’t a way to break this curse. He would deserve it. Swallowing thickly, he chose not to listen to these thoughts anymore. It was hard to ignore them. He spent five years alone just thinking about all the things he had done to lead him there. Five years stewing in his own thoughts, fear, and anger. He needed to just breathe.

Oliver sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He focused his attention back on Felicity. So beautiful, sleeping in his arms. His eyes dragged down her face, noticing that little freckles that peppered her nose and cheeks. He reached up and gently ghosted over them. Carefully, he let his fingers brush against her cheek and down her jawline. She didn’t even stir. His hand moved down her shoulder and arm until it rested on her hand. He watched her still breathing evenly. Biting down on his lip, he slipped his hand lower, finding her thigh. He dragged his hand over the soft flesh of the back of her thigh.

Suddenly, she gave a quiet giggle, “That tickles,” she mumbled sleepily.

He was slightly startled because he hadn’t meant to wake her, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she snuggled into him more.

She still hadn’t opened her eyes yet.

He kept his hand on her thigh. His mind wandering just a little. She was so beautiful and soft, he wondered what it would be like to be with her…. intimately. It had been a very long time since he was with someone that way. He had feelings for her and felt comfortable enough to want to be with her. She had kissed him, but kissing was different than going all the way. In the back of his mind there was a nagging thought that she wouldn’t want to. He tried to ignore it. Instead, he moved his hand up a little more, resting on her butt.

“Mmm,” she let her eyes flutter open and looked up at him.

It was still rather dark and she didn’t have her glasses on, so he knew that she couldn’t see him very well. That little fact made him more comfortable with the situation.

“Am I bothering you?” he asked quietly.

“Nope,” she smiled sweetly.

He let out a shaky breath.

“Last night was nice,” she said, “I didn’t want it to end.”

His heart pounded loudly in his chest. “Really?”

“Mhmm,” she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Happily, he kissed her back. Her words made his heart swell. She was so kind and wonderful. But it still worried him that she could say these things and the curse still wasn’t broken. Maybe taking another step would work. That was part of love wasn’t it? Sharing their bodies. Though, he still wasn’t up for exposing his entire body. He just couldn’t let her see him.

Felicity kissed him slowly and lazily. There was no rush to what they were doing. He actually found it to be quite nice. In that past he had always been rough. He enjoyed going down on a woman, watching her come undone because of him, and making them feel good. Of course, he also very much enjoyed getting off afterwards. This was different. He didn’t feel the need to speed up or take over; he was just happy to kiss her.

After several minutes of quiet kissing, she pulled his hand up and placed it near her chest. He took the hint and gently took her breast into his hand. He massaged the mound, causing moans to fall from her lips. The sounds she made only spurred him on. He could feel his own arousal rising, making his slacks very uncomfortable.

“Felicity,” he mumbled against her lips.

She didn’t say anything. Her lips left one last kiss against his and she slowly rolled over. She wiggled her pajama pants and panties down low enough for him to have access. He unbuttoned his slacks, but didn’t tug them down. Instead, he simply pulled himself from the confines of his boxers and with one hand pulled Felicity closer. He carefully slipped inside of her. The feeling was amazing. After going so long without having sex it was hard for him not to lose it right there.

“Oliver,” she moaned.

He wrapped his arm around her and slowly moved against her. Just like before there was no need to be quick or rough. They could just enjoy the feeling of their bodies melding together. He had to focus on not ending this before it had already begun, but he still enjoyed it. She was warm, gripping him just right. He moved his hand up to her chest again, massaging gently as he rutted against her.

This slow and lazy pace built up their climaxes. He wasn’t sure how long he actually managed to last before she was shaking in his grasp, moaning a little louder. The feeling of her falling over the edge pushing him over as well. He moved as much as he could until they were both relaxing. As soon as he was soft he slipped from her and fixed his boxers and slacks.

“Well,” she breathed out as she rolled over and fixed her own clothes, “Good morning to you,” she gave a breathy giggle.

He chuckled lightly, “Good morning.”

His hand came up to touch her cheek and he noticed that nothing had happened. There were still scars on his hand and arm. He had to bite back a grimace, leaning in and kissing her to keep her from becoming worried again.

At this point, he didn’t know if there was anyway to change him back. If kissing and sex with her didn’t work then what would? He just didn’t understand.

Oliver told himself not to run away, but he felt so stupid. Maybe he didn’t know anything about love and maybe he was just an idiot for believing his ex. He pulled away from Felicity and slid out of bed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, giving her one last look.

Before she could say anything he was dodging out of her room and taking the stairs three at a time to get to his room.

He stayed up there for a good portion of the morning. It was childish to hide again, but he didn’t know how to react to all of this. He was never going to look like he did before and he was never going to be okay with his ugly exterior.

A knock at the door startled him, “Oliver! I was going to let you work out whatever your problem is by yourself, but I can’t,” Felicity said, “I need to know what’s wrong.”

“Nothing,” he sighed.

“Oliver,” she sighed right back at him, “You keep freaking out and it’s freaking me out. You can’t just sleep with me… and then you know… and run off without me wondering what I did wrong.”

He swallowed thickly, but stayed quiet.

“If you don’t want to go any further with this…. whatever this is…. was…. then fine,” she sounded sad and it made his heart feel heavy.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said very quietly.

“Then what is it? Why are you pulling away. Is it because you’re my boss?”

“No,” he mumbled.

She gave a frustrated sigh.

Why was it so hard to make words? He wanted to talk to her, but he felt so scared. There was no way he could tell her that he loved her. It was not going to happen. Besides they had only been on one date and he knew how he felt when women told him those three words when he was young; he ran for the hills.

“I uh…” he tried to find what to say, “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Do what?” she asked.

“This,” he gave a frustrated sigh.

Felicity turned the doorknob, he had left it unlocked for once, and came into the room. He was sitting on his bed, trying to make himself as small as possible. He just wanted to hide.

“What do you mean?” she asked, sitting beside him.

“Get close to someone,” he looked at his hands, “I haven’t ever… and uh… when my family d-died I didn’t want to.” He had never talked to anyone about any of this. It was terrifying. He felt so much emotion rising to the surface. His heart thudded in his chest and his eyes started to burn with tears threatening to spill over.

“Talk to me,” she whispered.

“They were in a boating accident. I wanted to stay here and party…” he shook his head as the tears finally spilled. “This is stupid,” he sniffled and fought to wipe the tears away.

“Hey,” she reached for his hands, “It’s not stupid. I am your friend. I’m here for you.”

“I miss them,” he said after a few quiet moments.

He always thought he could bury his feelings with parties and women, but he never did. His feelings weren’t gone they were just bottle up and ignored.

“I miss them and I should have been on that boat too,” he pulled his hand away.

“That’s not true,” she said, “You didn’t get on that boat for a reason and now there’s a reason you’re here right now.”

“What reason?” he asked, still not looking at her.

“Umm… to give me a job and a place to live?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

He sniffled again. “Maybe.”

“I don’t know the reason, that’s something you have to figure out on your own,” she was serious again.

“I won’t,” he felt more salty tears, rolling down his cheeks.

“You will,” she said firmly.

He sighed.

“I mean it. I believe there’s a reason you’re still here and alive,” she said, “But I am sorry about your family and I wish you didn’t feel the need to keep yourself cooped up in here.”

He didn’t say anything.

“C’mere.”

He scooted a little closer and let her wrap her arms around him. She pulled him closer and let his head rest against her chest. Again she was so warm and soft. He let his eyes flutter shut just enjoying the way her hand settled in his short hair.

“I don’t know what this is or what we have, but there’s a something there. I just don’t want to get fired or something.”

“I’m not gonna fire you, Felicity,” he mumbled.

He might be sad if whatever this was didn’t work, but he couldn’t fire her.

“Oh, good.”

He let out a soft breath and relaxed against her. Even though it was hard and draining to get those words out, it actually made himself feel better. He didn’t believe he had a reason to be there. There was nothing for him to do. He had his company, but what was he really doing? Closing his eyes tighter, he tried to shut out the thoughts again. He focused on Felicity and the way it felt to have her fingers running through his hair, her nails lightly scratching at his scalp. His head against her warm chest and the way it felt to be so cared for. He still wasn’t sure he knew what love was or what it felt like, but this had to be close. Maybe she didn’t love him, yet and maybe there was still hope left. Just a little hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when the next chapter is coming out. I'm finishing/updating a couple different works this week, but then the Olicity Holiday Project starts as well Secret Santa stuff sooooo I'm probably going to be focusing on that. 
> 
> But I do want to do a Holiday themed chapter because I mean.... why not? Plus I've been dying to watching Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas for like a week and a half. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is literally just a sweet fluffy holiday chapter because.... well i can.

Oliver rolled over and let out a soft sigh. He was slowly coming to terms with the fact he might never be his old self. It had been a couple weeks since he’d tried to force the curse to break. Nothing worked and even though he wanted to keep trying… he knew it was best to stop. He was only hurting himself more the harder he tried. It was going to take him a while to really accept his fate, which meant that he was still going to have mornings like this. When he woke up and it felt like there was no point in getting out of bed. He didn’t want to let his depression take him down, but it was difficult.

After several minutes of contemplating actually just lying in bed and staring at the ceiling all day, he forced himself to get out of bed. He tugged on a ratty pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and his favorite green hoodie, flipping the hood up. It was going to be a long day, that he was sure of.

Downstairs, he wandered into the living room. The sight he was met with was not one he was expecting. Felicity was standing on a chair in front of the fireplace, setting up some kind of holiday decorations. She was singing a song in a language he didn’t understand, but she looked extremely cheery.

He walked up to her, but she didn’t seem to notice that he was even in the room. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Startled, she yelped and toppled backwards off the chair. He was close enough that he was able to leap forward and catch her in his arms.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“No, it’s fine,” she blushed and laughed, “I’m decorating for the holidays.”

“Oh,” he sighed as he righted her and helped her back onto the chair. “I don’t really do Christmas anymore…” he added.

“Well, I don’t celebrate Christmas,” she shrugged, “This is all my Hanukkah stuff.”

“Oh,” he said again.

“Talk to me,” she said as she put a few more blue and silver decorations up.

He let out a shaky breath. She was trying to pull more information out of him. Trying to get him to open up, but it was so hard. He was barely able to tell her about his family and now he was going to do it again.

“I haven’t done any celebrating since my family….” he trailed off.

“Oh, right….” she said, “I should have asked first.”

“No,” he looked up at her, “I can’t tell you not to celebrate… I just… I won’t be.” 

He shook his head and turned away from her. Just as he thought it was going to be a long day. Waking up depressed had just been the beginning. He shuffled away from her and towards the kitchen. Behind him he could hear Felicity getting down and following him. He continued forward into the kitchen, even though he wasn’t remotely hungry.

Oliver stopped in his tracks just inside the door. It looked like a baking attempt gone wrong… or some kind of explosion transpired in the kitchen while he was sleeping. Flour, sugar, egg shells, and some of the yolks were on the counter and floor. The milk was on the counter and a bag of powdered sugar was lying flat slowly pouring out.

Felicity slipped inside and looked up at him with the most worried expression.

“Don’t fire me, but… I was trying to make some sufganiyot and I couldn’t seem to get it right,” she motioned to the area around her, “I had to change clothes three times because there was so much crap on me,” she whined, “But I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for trashing your kitchen.”

He watched her for a moment. She looked utterly distraught. He could just imagine the expressions that crossed her face as she was trying to make the sufganiyot stuff… whatever what is. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he finally cracked. He started laughing, genuine laughs, deep from his chest.

“You’re laughing,” she said.

He wrapped his arms around his middle and shook his head.

“Are you going to live?” she asked, her own smile becoming wide.

He took in a deep breath as he tried to stop laughing.

“I mean, dying of laughter is probably one of the best ways to go,” she walked towards him, “And at least I would get to see that smile of yours.”

He finally managed to quell the laughter, “You’re remarkable.”

“Thank you for remarking on it,” she giggled.

Warmth spread through him. He was still depressed. There was no way to magically cure his sadness, ironic. Not even with the laughter that Felicity pulled out of him. He did, though, feel a tiny bit better.

“So, uh,” he started to say, “What is a sufganiyot?”

“They’re jelly donuts,” she said happily, “They’re a traditional treat during Hanukkah. I was trying to hard to make some for the both of us, but….”

“I can try,” he said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

Cooking seemed like a good way to distract himself right now.

“Uh, we might want to clean up first, though,” he chuckled.

“Right, sorry about that… again…” Felicity bit down on her lip.

After a quick clean up and the ingredients were placed on the counter, they got to work. Yes they, because Oliver wasn’t going to let Felicity get out of actually learning how to do it.

He looked down at the recipe and gave a single nod. “Measure out the flour?”

Felicity lifted up the bag and started to pour it into a measuring cup.

“Wait,” he said.

It was too late. Some of it came out with a soft thud in the cup, causing it to cloud in her face.

“Dammit,” she muttered.

He pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t laugh this time.

“Here,” he reached over and dumped the flour back into the bag. “This is better for liquids,” he held up the cup. He reached for the silver measures, connected on a metal ring. “These are better for dry ingredients.”

Felicity took it and nodded. “I have genius level intelligence and I can’t even measure flour properly,” she sighed.

“It’s okay,” he reassured her, “It’s cute actually.” As soon as he said it his cheeks burned red.

Felicity’s cheeks were just as bright as she turned to look up at him. “Well, thank you Mr. Queen,” her tone was teasing and it only made him blush harder.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled quietly.

She giggled and went back to measuring the flour. They worked together well, he enjoyed it immensely. He liked helping her and listening to her teach him about Judaism. Apparently what they were making was much more popular in Israel than latkes. And she just really loved the jelly filled sweets. He had to admit that while they were making them he was getting hungry.

They sat at the dining room table, waiting for the hot donuts to chill, so they could fill them with jelly. Both of them were getting rather impatient at his point.

“So, what were you singing?” he asked.

“Ner Li Dakik,” she said.

He blinked a couple of times.

“I have a candle… it’s sung in Hebrew.”

“Oh, that’s really cool,” he said sincerely.

Felicity smiled brightly.

He wanted to ask her a million more questions about her culture and religion, but he didn’t want to seem too nosy or something; he was just really interested in every aspect of Felicity Smoak.

“You look like you’re thinking really hard.”

“Uh… I guess. Just kind of curious about… you and Hanukkah.”

She perked up even more than before. “Ask me anything!”

Oliver was taken aback, but he gave a gentle smile and nodded. He asked her everything that he could think of and she answered without any hesitation. They spent so much time talking that they almost forgot about the sufganiyots.

“You know, Oliver,” Felicity said as he filled the donuts, “You said you didn’t celebrate anymore, but…. I don’t think that’s what your family would want.”

He slowed his movements and kept his eyes down.

“I don’t mean to overstep any bounds, but you deserve to be happy. It’s okay for you to be happy,” she reached over and squeezed his hand.

He swallowed thickly.

“You’ll always have the old memories of Christmas with your family, but you can also make new memories of the holidays.” 

He wasn’t sure what to think. Most of the time he didn’t think he even deserved to be alive, but she was so sweet. Her words, the sincerity, and the warmth she gave him made him want to believe her. He finally looked up at her and gave a small nod.

“Thank you, Felicity.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, “But the real thank you would be one of those little beauties.”

He snorted and finished up a couple of the treats. The little round donuts were filled to bursting with sweet jam and covered with powdered sugar. They looked and smelled delicious. He picked one up and handed it to Felicity before raising his own. They took a bite at the same time and both let out a moans of approval.

“Oh god, I could eat twenty of these,” she groaned.

He nodded. “Very good.”

In a matter of seconds the fried dough in their hands was gone, but before either of them grabbed another one, he leaned a little closer to her.

“You got something on your lip,” he said.

“That is the worst pick up line,” she laughed.

He blushed again, “You really do have something,” he dragged his thumb across her lip, ridding her of the jelly that was there.

He looked into her eyes and bit down on his own lip. They were so close, he could have easily leaned in and given her a kiss.

“There’s no mistletoe,” she said as if she could read his mind.

“So?” he asked.

“I dunno, it just seemed like a moment for mistletoe. Although, I never really understood why people kissed under a poisonous plant. You would think that it would be the last plant-”

He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. She kissed him back slowly and sweetly. He kept his lips attached to hers for a few wonderful moments.

She giggled as they pulled apart, “I guess that’s one way to shut me up.”

“And the other…” he slid food towards her.

“Good call,” she picked up another donut.

“Happy Early Hanukkah, Felicity.”

“Happy Holidays, Oliver.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays, everyone!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all I'm gonna say is... "soon"

Felicity sat at her computer like she did every day. Oliver sat beside her, leaning in and watching what she was doing. She hit send on an email to the board and leaned back into her chair. Her eyes moved towards Oliver. He looked slightly perturbed.

“You okay?” she asked.

He nodded, pulling his gaze away from the computer screen. “Yeah, just thinking.”

“About?”

“It’s nothing,” he shook his head.

She frowned, “Alright.”

It was easy to tell he wasn’t being truthful. She really wanted him to talk to her more, to open up about his thoughts. He was getting there, but it was taking time. If they were ever going to put a label on what they had, she needed to know that he could be open and honest with her. Well, she wouldn’t even know what to label them as. She really liked him, he really liked her, they hadn’t had sex again since the first time, but they shared a bed often. They talked, though some days it took some prompting for Oliver.

He was getting better and she knew that. Which was why she didn’t push him.

“Am I doing the right thing?” he asked suddenly.

She blinked a couple of times, “What do you mean?”

“With the company.”

“I think you’re doing great,” she said.

He gave a soft laugh, “Yeah. I’m just…” he tried to find the words, “I don’t know if I should be the one taking care of the company anymore.”

“Do you not want to? If this is about deserving to run it…”

“It’s not,” he waved his hand, “Maybe it’s part of it, but….” he sighed.

“What what?” she reached over and squeezed his hand.

He looked up to meet her gaze, “Do you remember what you said about what my family would have wanted for me? And that I deserved to be happy?”

It was a couple weeks ago, but she remembered it of course. She nodded, “Yes.”

“I… I don’t think…. the company doesn’t make me happy. I wanted to do this because it was the right thing to do. Because it’s my father’s legacy, but…” he sighed again.

“Hey,” she said softly, “You’ve been taking care of it, you’ve kept it running, but if this isn’t what you want… then it’s not what you want and it’s okay. I know I always joke about you firing me and what not, but I’ll be okay and so will everyone else.”

He looked at her with such awe in his eyes. “How did you become so amazing?”

“I mean I think I’ve always been amazing,” she said with faux smugness.

He laughed, that beautiful laugh which made his eyes sparkle and the most amazing smile pull at his lips. It made her heart pound wildly in her chest. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“You’re going to figure out what you want to do. I believe in you,” she whispered close to his ear.

As she pulled back, he cupped her cheeks and pulled her back in for a kiss on the lips. Her hands moved up to find his face. Gentle fingertips moved across his scarred cheeks. They only held the kiss for a moment or so before pulling back. She felt a fluttering in her chest. A buzzing in her fingers. It was something unexplainable. Almost magical.

“I…” she started to say, “I think you should um find someone to be your replacement before anything else happens.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed his face before he nodded. “I already have someone in mind.”

“Oh! Good,” she smiled wide, “We just need to write up a proposal for the board and get all the necessary paperwork to transfer ownership.”

“You know so much about all of this,” he said.

“I try. I don’t have a business degree, obviously, but I always thought it was a good idea to take a few extra classes here and there, business basics, French, science fiction literature....”

“Felicity,” Oliver interrupted

“Yes?” she asked.

“Breathe.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded.

“And,” he added, “You can have the rest of the day off.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, go relax.”

“Alright,” she pushed herself up from the desk chair.

She was about to walk out of the room when she turned around and gave him another quick kiss. “If you need anything, let me know, Mr. Queen.”

He smirked, “Of course, Ms. Smoak.”

She pulled away and left him to work. Most of the time she spent her days off with him, but she wanted to do some internet researching of her own. If Oliver was stepping down from his position as CEO then she was out of a job. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she was going to end up doing, but she wasn’t going to mooch off of Oliver, so it was time for her to find her own place. Luckily, she had a good sum saved up because of her current situation. The thing was, she didn’t actually want to leave. She loved the manor, she loved her job, and she loved… being around Oliver.

* * *

Oliver didn’t feel the usual rush of insecurity and anxiety when Felicity’s hands were on his face and their lips were attached. The anxieties would probably never really leave, but it was getting easier to manage. Months spent with Felicity seemed to help him at least come to terms with his condition. Maybe he would never be handsome again, but with her he didn’t feel the need. He could be himself and now worry about being a freak. She looked at him with admiration and pride. Her sweet touches and affection she gave him made his heart swell. Never did he think he could feel this way about another person, but he did. Oh god he did.

He thought she was going to say something, that she was going to say she loved him, but it didn’t happen. It was okay. He wasn’t going to push her. It wouldn’t be fair if he did. Besides, she might not ever reciprocate those feelings.

He let out a shaky breath and looked to the computer screen. There was much to do and now he was kind of nervous. It was a big deal to let go of his entire company, but he knew if he wanted to be happy he needed to be doing something else.

Could he do anything else? He was always cooped up in his home. It had been a long time since he’d actually left the manor and interacted with other humans beside Felicity. That part really scared him. Maybe he shouldn’t do this. He could keep up with the company, right?

Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. He couldn’t let himself give up already. No, he had to do this. He sucked in a deep breath. The first thing he had to do was get the paperwork ready. There was only one person he knew that could run this company the way it deserved to be run and that was Felicity. He didn’t know if she wanted the company, but he was going to offer it to her anyway. Then he could work on what he wanted to do. There were two things in life that he actually enjoyed and those were reading and cooking. Now, if he could figure out something that combined those two things then he would be the happiest man alive.

Okay, there was one other thing he wanted that could truly make him the happiest man alive, but he wasn’t about to get his hopes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what y'all think!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing this chapter made me very emotional it’s fine i’m okay it’s all good [muffled sobbing]

Oliver stood in his room, looking out his window. It has been so long since he’d seen the outside world. He was scared to go more than a few steps past his front steps, but he knew if he was going to rejoin the world eventually, he was going to have to try. It was terrifying. Utterly terrifying. The idea created a nauseating feeling in his stomach. Anxiety clawed at his insides. Some days he did feel like his anxieties were as ugly as his outward appearance; a monstrous beast all on it’s own. On the days when it was bad It sank it’s teeth into his lungs and sucked out the air. His chest rattled as he gasped for breath. He felt like he would suffocate as he trembled and shrank down to his knees.

That was something he didn’t want to face. Not that day. He wanted to go outside and feel sunshine on his skin, smell the fresh air, and hopefully walk hand in hand with Felicity. The part where he interacted with someone other than her, well, that was going to take longer. People were what set off his fears. The judgement, the looks, and the whispers that he knew would come. He imagined it a thousand times in his head. It nagged at him during the night, making it difficult to sleep. He wanted to believe that there were others like Felicity who wouldn’t care, but the doubt was so strong.

Part of him wondered if this was what Laurel had intended for him or if he had just made his punishment worse all by himself.

“Baby steps,” he breathed out.

“You okay?” Felicity gently pushed his door open.

“Yeah,” he said, turning towards her, “I uh was actually thinking about going outside.”

“Outside? Like all the way outside?”

He shuffled his feet nervously, “Yeah.”

“I didn’t mean to make it sound like it’s a big deal. I mean it is a big deal, but in a good way. I know you haven’t been out there in awhile and that’s okay. You’ve been dealing with… stuff.”

He gave a small smile, “It’s okay,” he walked towards her, “Would you like to go on a walk with me?”

She held out her hand to him, “Sure, I kind of wanted to talk to you anyway. It’s nothing bad, don’t worry.”

He smiled a bit wider and took her hand, interlacing their fingers, “Alright.”

When they reached the front door, he swallowed thickly. He was ready to go, physically at least. Shoes, jeans, shirt, and jacket; fully prepared to step out into the world and yet… he was hesitating.

“It’s okay,” she squeezed his hand.

He nodded slowly and took in a deep breath, “Okay.”

She led the way, keeping a tight hold of his hand. He kept his hood down as they stepped outside. The sunlight was blinding. He held his free hand up to shield his gaze until he was able to adjust to the brightness. Bringing his hand down, he realized just how pale he had gotten, hiding away in his home.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m okay,” he looked to her and gave a reassuring smile. “How are you so understanding?” he asked quietly.

She shrugged. “Everyone has their fears. I, for instance, have a terrible phobia of kangaroos. They just… wig me out. They look evil!” she exclaimed.

He chuckled lightly.

“And like you told me… you don’t like going outside or being around people very much. Understandable if you ask me. People can be mean and I’m not an outdoorsy person… at all. I went camping once and it was awful. Bugs, humidity, and dirt. My mom and I ended up in a hotel halfway through the night…. and that was not the point of what I was trying to say,” she shook her head, “I meant… everyone has fears and sometimes you gotta take your time facing them. I don’t think I’ll ever face a kangaroo, though.”

He couldn’t help but smile wide. She was the most amazing person. Her rambles somehow cheered him up. They were so cute and she was just.. something else. She made his heart do backflips in his chest.

“Maybe you will one day,” he said, squeezing her hand.

“That would be a very big maybe.”

“I think there’s one at the zoo.”

“Hey! We are working on you today,” she playfully nudged him.

He laughed, a full and deep laugh from his chest. His smile was so bright and sincere it was starting to make his cheeks hurt. He almost didn’t realize that they had reached the front gate.

When they stopped, he looked at the big iron gate in front of them. It was the only thing, standing between him and the rest of the world. It was still many blocks down the road before they ran into another house, but that didn’t change the way he felt.

Felicity took his hand between both of hers, “If it’s too much we don’t have to leave the property today.”

He nodded, “I want to. I want to try.”

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the gate open and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He looked down each way. It was quiet, no one was around, but he still felt uneasy.

“You know the last time I was out here was when…”

“You saved me,” she finished his sentence for him.

He nodded, “The only thing I was thinking about was making sure you were safe. You were very irritating, but I couldn’t let you get hurt.”

“Well, thanks for that,” she said sarcastically, but immediately shook her head. “I am grateful you came for me that night,” she ran her hand up and down his arm in the most comforting way.

“Me too.”

They continued to walk, letting the heaviness of the conversation ebb away.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” he asked.

“I was thinking, I should move out.”

He felt a pang in his stomach, “Wh-what?”

“I just don’t want to mooch off of you, Oliver. I’m not going to be working for you anymore and I don’t want to be that weird person, living in your house.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” he said quickly, “Please don’t.”

“Oliver…”

“Please, I wanted to talk to you too… b-but I needed to prepare something,” he stuttered and stumbled over his words, “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

He was slipping into a full blown panic. Felicity couldn’t leave. She just couldn’t. He needed her in his life.

“Oliver. Breathe,” she gripped onto both his hands.

He closed his eyes tight and took in a few deep breaths, counting to ten each time.

“I haven’t made any arrangements yet and I would be happy to not have to. I love living with you. And it’s not just the extravagant meals and the mansion.”

The corner of his lip twitched upward, threatening a smile. He peaked his eyes open slowly. His breathing steadied again.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, feeling ashamed.

“Hey, no, you don’t have to be sorry. I kind of sprung that on you. I never want to be the cause of a panic attack,” she squeezed both his hands.

He knew she had been doing some internet researching. She was understanding all on her own, but she seemed to be able to put names to the things that he was feeling. It was such a relief, if he were being honest.

“You can still surprise me with your thing,” she paused for a moment after the words left her lips, “Not that thing,” her eyes moved downward for half a second, “I mean the thing you were working on that you wanted to show me that is allegedly going to allow me to stay living with you and not be a mooch,” she bit down hard on her lower lip.

He gave a breathy laugh. God, he loved this woman. “Okay, good.”

“How about we head back?” she asked.

They had only made it part way down the block, but he knew he had done enough for the day, “Yeah, that sounds good. I’m going to try to finish up your surprise tonight.”

Back at the manor they both sat quietly in the living room. He was content with winding down without any noise. All he could hear was the soft tapping of Felicity’s fingers on her tablet and the click of the keys when he was typing or the shuffling of paper. He was slowly working on the paperwork that he needed for her to sign.

Everything was fine, until it wasn’t. He felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest that caused him to gasp. A burning spread through him. It felt like his skin was on fire inside and out.

“Oh god,” he gapsed.

“Oliver!” Felicity gave a terrified shriek.

He wrapped his arms around his middle as he slunk to the floor. The pain was all too familiar. Exactly like the day Laurel cursed him, but somehow worse.

“Stay back!” he shouted.

How could this be happening? What had he done this time?

“Oliver, what’s happening?”

“Stay back,” he choked out the words.

The pain was so much he thought he might faint. He didn’t know if he was going to look worse than before… or if this was it. If this was the end.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got real sniffley writing this chapter too ngl

The room was quiet and warm. It was nice to just setting into a large comfortable chair and type away on her tablet. She hadn’t sent any applications for any of the apartments she was eyeing. There was still a small amount of doubt surrounding whether or not she would be able to still live there with him, but she was willing to give Oliver the chance to surprise her.

She looked up to watch him on the other side of the room. He was working diligently on whatever he had on his computer and on those papers. A smile tugged at her lips. He always looked so serious when he worked. A crinkle between his eyes that was almost a scowl, but the effect was slightly ruined by his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth. It was one of the most adorable sights.

She had to force herself to stop staring at him, but it was a lot more difficult than she would have liked. After what happened that morning it was hard to keep her gaze away from him. He had done so well and she was so proud of him. She was sure that he had some kind of anxiety disorder, though she may not understand the feeling completely, she knew it was something that was going to take time. There was no magical cure, but she believed in him. She believed that he would get to a point where he could leave the house again. Maybe even on his own.

Her heart swelled just thinking about the progress that he’d already made. He’d opened up so much more, worked hard every day, and was simply one of the most amazing people she had ever met. She looked up at him again, holding in a sigh when she did. There was a part of her that refused to let go. Refused to let feelings flow, but she knew right there, watching him work that she loved him.

She loved Oliver, but was she ready to say it yet?

Shaking her head, she focused on what she was doing on her tablet again.

She didn’t get a chance to focus for long because a loud gasp from Oliver startled her. Her tablet tumbled to the floor and she pushed herself up.

“Oh god,” he gasped again.

“Oliver!” she shouted.

Her fingers trembled as she took a step forward. He slunk down to the floor, his arms wrapped around himself. She took another hesitant step forward, but he yelled at her to stay back.

“Oliver,” her lip quivered, “What’s happening?”

“Stay back,” he choked on his own words.

He shouted in pain and she stumbled backwards not sure what to even do. Her eyes filled with tears as she had to watch him writhe on the floor. After a few minutes he gasped and panted heavily.

“Oliver,” she whispered, walking towards him again.

“The pain is gone,” he kept his head low, staring at his hands as they pressed against the floor.

“What just happened?” she asked, wiping away a tear from her cheek.

“I…” he held his hand in front of his face, “You love me?” he finally looked up at her.

Her eyes went wide both from what he said and what she saw. She took a few more steps back until she fell into the chair she had been sitting in.

“What?” was all she managed to say.

“You love me,” he said it as a statement instead of a question this time.

She was still staring, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. One minute he’s covered in scars and the next…. he’s not. She had never thought ill of the scars, they were a part of who he was, and that meant she loved them as much as she loved him. But they were gone. His face was smooth aside from the scruff that he had let build.

He walked towards her and kneeled down in front of her, hesitantly putting his hands in her lap.

“Felicity,” he whispered, “I have loved you for so long.”

If it was possible her eyes went even wider.

“You have brought so much light into my life. You helped me want to be a better person,” he looked into her eyes, “I love you.”

She was still a little scared. It was really shocking to see someone literally transform in front of you.

“I…. I’m confused,” she whispered.

“It is a long story,” his eyes pleaded for her to say those three words back to him.

“Are you really my Oliver,” she searched his face again.

He cracked a small smile, “I am… I promise. I’m the same person I was this morning.”

She cupped both of his cheeks, letting her thumbs rub against his smooth skin, “I loved your scars,” she said quietly.

He gave her a confused look.

“They were a part of you, so I loved them…. because I love you.”

His eyes welled up with tears, quickly spilling onto her hands. “Felicity,” he whispered her name as if it were the most meaningful word to ever leave his lips.

She still didn’t know what happened, didn’t know what she saw, but for a moment she could let those worries melt away. Leaning in, she pressed her lips against his. She could taste the saltiness of his tears on his lips. They kissed slowly and lovingly. There was no rush, no desperation, it was just sweet and simple.

Carefully he guided her down onto the floor with him. She reached for his shirt, but he stopped her. Biting down on her lip, she watched him for a moment. She knew it had been hard for him to let her see him before. Really, she had barely seen him at all, but she understood. With a shaky breath, he nodded. She tugged his shirt off of him and tossed it away. Her eyes moved down his chest and abdomen. Every inch was smooth and muscled like she suspected; but there was a scar across his chest, just above his heart.

“There’s still one,” she whispered.

Her hand moved up to drag across the scar tissue.

“Maybe it’s a reminder,” he said softly.

She leaned forward and kissed his chest gently, “A reminder of what?”

He sighed.

“What?” she looked up at him.

“I don’t want you to think I’m crazy,” he mumbled.

“I just saw you transform right in front of me,” she laughed, “I think we’re past crazy.”

He sighed again, but nodded. She listened to him as he told her what happened. It was crazy. A witch and curse. It made her head spin. Could she really believe that? Then again it was hard to dispute something that she could see and feel.

“I’m glad she cursed you,” she said.

He frowned.

“That sounds terrible, but I mean… I’m glad it happened because it helped you become the person you are now. The person I love and want to be with. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have given you the time of day if you were the jerk you said you were,” she laughed.

“Well… then maybe I should thank her,” he smiled and kissed her lips again.

His hand ran down her side while they kissed. She shivered underneath him.

“Felicity,” he mumbled after a few minutes.

“Hmm,” she raised a brow at him.

She would have been perfectly content if they just continued kissing.

“I want you to run Queen Consolidated,” he leaned up and looked her in the eyes.

“What?”

He smiled, “I want to sign the company over to you.”

“What?” she squeaked this time.

“You know the company better than anyone, you’re smart, and… let’s face it you’ve been running it for months now.”

“Oliver,” she grabbed onto his face and pulled him in for another kiss, “Yes, I do…. I will.”

He laughed, “I was hoping you would say that.”

It was more than she could have wished for. All she wanted was to work for QC, but now she would be able to call the company her own. She could make so many changes and create new products. The things she would do and the people she could help.

She kissed him again, “You’re amazing,” she mumbled between kisses.

“I try.”

She couldn’t stop kissing him. Didn’t want to stop. She had already wanted to be with him. They had only been together that one time and she would have happily been with him again and again, but she was letting him make those decisions. Now she wanted him, no, she needed him. She loved this man and all she wanted to do was feel him.

Oliver found the zipper on her dress and tugged it down. She groaned when his hand moved up to her breast, gently massaging. Her own fingers skated over his body, discovering every line and muscle on his body.

The rest of their clothes were tossed away. He moved so that she lie perfectly beneath him. She could feel his length, thick and hard, pressing against her thigh. Her body ached for him. She wanted to feel him inside of her.

He kept his eyes on hers as he slipped inside. She let out a low groan. Their bodies moved together, soft and slow. It felt so amazing. His hand moved against her breasts again. Massaging and stimulating.

“Oliver,” she whispered his name like a prayer.

“I love you,” he leaned in just enough to kiss her lips.

He moved to support himself on his elbows, kissing her, and thrusting hard enough to start pushing her into her climax.

“I love you, I love you,” she mumbled against his lips.

She let out a gasp. Her body getting closer and closer to that sweet release. He touched her and filled her in just the right ways.

She trembled and moaned. Moments later he was following suit, her name fell from his lips over and over again. With quiet, but heavy pants, they came down. He moved to lie beside her and pulled her close. She tried to catch her breath as she rest her head on his chest. Her body was tired, but she was so content and satisfied. It was quiet for a few minutes. She didn’t mind.

“Felicity?” he sounded hesitant.

“Yes,” she traced imaginary shapes in his skin.

“I think I know what I want to do.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot. There are two things, other than you, that make me really happy and that’s books and cooking.”

She turned her head so she could see his face.

“I thought about a cafe and bookstore, but I don’t want to run a business. That doesn’t make me happy…. so maybe I could write a cookbook.”

“A cookbook?”

“Is that dumb?”

“No, not at all. I love your cooking and it would be awesome to share your ideas with others. And you know if you wanted to do a Jewish section, I could help you,” she teased.

“I would actually like to do that,” he smiled up at her.

“Good,” she returned his smile and kissed him gently.

She rest her head on his chest again. His hand moved up and down her back. It was such a soothing feeling that she started to close her eyes.

“Felicity?”

“Yeah?” she whispered.

“Thank you.”

She peeked an eye open, “For what?”

“Being you.”

She giggled, “Then thank you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So close to end, y'all. I'm both sad and excited... and I have a feeling you are too.


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and here we are at the end. I love these two kids so much and I’ve had the greatest time writing this story. Thank you to everyone who followed along, enjoyed it, and commented! I hope that the epilogue is satisfying ♥

Six years had passed since Oliver had first been cursed. Five years of loneliness and self hatred. A little less than full year of learning, growing, and finding himself again. So much had happened and there was still just as much if not more ahead of him.

The day Felicity went to QC to meet with the board, he went with her. It was terrifying. He knew he wasn’t fully ready to rejoin the rest of the world, but he pushed himself into going because he wanted to back up Felicity. He doubted that she really needed his help, but it made him feel better to be there. Well, somewhat better. There were so many nerves. So much worry about what people were saying about him. He could feel eyes on him with every step he took, but he had to swallow all the fear back and be there for Felicity.

She didn’t ask him to be there, he had truly wanted to be there. By the time they were leaving, he was really ready to be at home. He was so proud of Felicity, though. She didn’t take any crap from the board members and laid down the law. He knew he made the right choice in signing the company over to her.

At home he sought comfort in her arms.

It took time, therapy, and some prescription medication to get him out of the house more. Pushing himself too far held him back a little, but he didn’t blame anyone but himself for it. It had been his decision. His therapy sessions started out over the computer and slowly he worked towards actually meeting his doctor face to face. Every day he went a little farther outside of the property and down the street. Some days with Felicity and some days he did it on his own. He kept working at it and was actually proud of how much progress he was making.

On the sixth anniversary of the day he was cursed he found himself, sitting in a coffee shop several blocks away from the manor. He sat there with a laptop in front of him, a cup of coffee, and a notepad full of things for his cook book. There were a few people inside and yes he was very nervous to be there alone, but the setting was so calm and quiet it was easier to adjust.

He also kept reminding himself that Felicity would be there for lunch soon.

Until she arrived, he was going to focus on writing up his recipe for cordon bleu.

“Hello,” a feminine voice broke through his concentration.

He looked up, smiling and expecting Felicity, but was met with Laurel Lance’s smirk. A rush of panic filled him. “What are you doing here?” he choked out a whisper.

“Checking on you,” she leaned on the table, “I see you’re looking like your rotten self again. Did you trick some poor innocent girl?”

“No,” he swallowed thickly.

He didn’t want to piss her off again, but he also didn’t want her to be there at all.

“I’m surprised.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be,” he mumbled, trying to find his voice, “I’ve changed.”

“I think think you actually would,” she said plainly.

“Excuse me,” they both stopped and looked up to see Felicity standing there, “I hope I’m not interrupting,” she said.

Laurel’s gaze dragged over Felicity, “Hmm.”

“No, you’re not interrupting. Laurel was leaving,” he said, reaching for Felicity’s hand and starting to feel more confident.

Felicity blinked a couple of times, “So you’re Laurel,” she sat down next to him, “I should thank you.”

Laurel was taken aback. She stood up straight and tall, “What?”

“If you hadn’t done what you did I might never have met Oliver.”

Crossing her arms, the taller woman shook her head, “She really does love you, doesn’t she?”

“I do love him,” Felicity spoke for herself, refusing to be talked over or ignored.

He nodded, “And I love her.”

The witch eyed them both. He couldn’t tell if she was mad or what. She lifted her hand in the same way she had before, moments before her spell hit him square in the chest. He didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate before moving his body in front of Felicity’s. He made some noise with the table and chairs squeaking, but he didn’t care.

She laughed, lowering her hand, seeming satisfied, “I guess that’s all I needed,” her smirk was wicked, “I will leave the happy couple alone…. but I would keep an eye on him if I were you,” she said to Felicity.

“We’re fine, thank you,” she hissed.

“Right,” Laurel chuckled and turned to leave.

The cafe had gone very quiet and Oliver could feel the eyes on him. He swallowed again, moving everything back where it was. Felicity squeezed his hand tightly as he sat down again.

“Breathe,” she whispered.

He closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly.

“You okay?”

“I will be,” he sighed, looking to her, “I’m just happy you’re okay.”

“I ain’t afraid of no witch,” she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“That makes one of us.”

Felicity looked into his eyes, “I’m not going to let her hurt you.”

“God, I love you,” he leaned in and kissed her lips softly.

She smiled against his lips, “I love you too.”

When he pulled back he dragged his gaze over her face. Her sweet and beautiful face. The smile that made his heart warm and his stomach fill with butterflies. And those eyes and could peer right into his soul. He wanted to kiss her through her entire lunch break, but he couldn’t keep her from eating lunch.

“Why don’t you get some coffee and lunch,” he nodded towards the counter.

She nodded, “I’m going to skip the coffee, though.”

“Oh?” he frowned. He vaguely remembered her not drinking coffee that morning either.

It was really weird.

“Mhmmm,” she didn’t give him an actual explanation.

He shrugged it off, guessing that she was cutting back caffeine for whatever reason. It was her prerogative. He tilted his head and watched her up at the counter. She bounced in place as she tried to decide what to eat. He couldn’t help smiling wide at the sight. She was just so cute. He was happy to have her in his life. They had made their relationship official as in they shared a room now, she often stole his clothes, and he was going to meet her mother in the coming weeks. Six years ago he would have screamed and run in fear at the idea of this kind of relationship. But now? Now he was head over heels in love with Felicity Smoak and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s i’m tossing around the idea of taking prompts on tumblr for this verse in the future. i just love it so much!!


End file.
